Making New Sounds

Working with the technology of sound recording and playback, people soon discovered that they could create entirely new sounds. By manipulating the electrical signal sent to a loudspeaker, sounds that had never existed before came to life. The loudspeaker became part of an instrument itself.

A Generated Sound

Generated sounds are made with the help of technical equipment, for example, a computer.

Listen

What you just heard is a generated sound. Generated sounds are used in Electronic Music.

You might have come across generated sounds in many situations in your life. And it is very likely that you will have heard music using these sounds.

Uncovering the Ingredients of Sound

With the help of electronic technology, it was possible to examine how sounds worked.

Scientists investigated the basic properties of sound and then created electrical circuits which could reproduce and create new sounds.

They used oscilloscopes (a piece of equipment that displays soundwaves on a visual screen) to view the soundwaves:

Building New Sounds

Inside nearly all electronic instruments is an electrical part called an oscillator. These create a signal wave which moves back and forth (the wave can be described as oscillating). Almost any electrical device that produces its own sound will contain an oscillator.

These oscillating electrical signals are then fed to a loudspeaker and are converted into soundwaves:

While different types of oscillators will create sounds that have a different timbre.

By combining individual, basic soundwaves, it is possible to create an unlimited number of new sonic textures.

New Instruments

Many early electronic instruments were extensions to existing acoustic instruments (e.g. the electric guitar) but other brand new instruments were soon invented.

Find out more by reading below:

Theremin

One of the first new musical instruments was the theremin. The theremin is performed without being touched by the performer. It has two antennae, one to control pitch (usually a straight metal pole) and one to control volume (usually a curved metal loop).

When the performer moves towards the antennae, their body interacts with the electronic circuitry to produce a sound.

Activity

If you know someone who is able to solder electronics, then you can build your own sudophone.

All the instructions, and a list of all the parts that you might need, are available on the inventors website: Sudophone Instructions.

TAKE CARE: The soldering process uses very high temperatures.

Oramics Machine

The Oramics machine was designed and built by the composer and musician Daphne Oram in 1959. It was not a live performance instrument (like the theremin or sudophone), but allowed sounds to be created directly from their basic parameters.

Daphne Oram demonstrates the Oramics machine

A recording from the mid 1960s in which Daphne Oram talks about the Oramics machine and plays some sound examples.

The composer would draw patterns and shapes onto glass plates and celluloid film, which controlled the various parameters of the sound. The shapes of these patterns directly affected and controlled the sounds that were generated.

Extra

Programmers have created a version of the Oramics machine for iPhone and iPad. Download and draw your very own sounds, or even compose a whole piece!